Friday played out much like Thursday had. Which was a little unsettling in its own right. Spot was just another one of the office pets! Only this time he couldn’t take a break and come up back reality if he wanted to. This was going to be his new life if Master couldn’t get his costume’s zipper workin again!
It umm… It wasn’t all bad to be honest. There were plenty of treat jars around the office, and everyone gave him a nice head pat when they came in to the break room for some coffee. Something about this form also just felt physically right to him. The coat of fur, the small size, walking on all fours… This had been a lot of fun to indulge in.
Spot was having to look at it in a new light now. Would he be able to deal with being stuck like this? Senior account representative to watch dog wasn’t exactly the career move he had been plotting. Thankfully his Master was alright looking after him for now. That in and of itself was a little weird. Somehow it was the head pats and “Good Boys” that was taking more of an adjustment to than four sets of paws.
He tried not to fret though. Spot was sure the wizard would be able to get the zipper working again. His Master really did seem to be an expert of his craft. Even if that craft was uh- Weird enchanted costumes. His owner did end up selling a lot more costumes than he did the day before. It was fascinating to watch him work. He hit this salesman gear that was a little hokey, but somehow always managed to seal the deal. He couldn’t stop smiling the whole time.
His owner had clearly primed a few of their coworkers earlier that week. He sold a construction worker outfit, a biker outfit, and another dog outfit! It was fun having another dog to sniff and explore the office with.
Spot scratched his ear as Jack started to break down the shop, “It’s getting late sir, aren’t you going to turn Duke back?”
The question appeared to have caught his Master off guard, “Oh! Uh- No, I’m going to change everyone back after Halloween.”
“Everyone sir?” Spot tilted his head.
“Yeah,” he started to point at the animals around the office, “Duke, Shadow, Princess, Spoon, uh- I can’t remember if Gizmo is one of mine or not.”
“Arf, sir! You did all this!?” Spot’s ears shot up, “I mean, they’re all like me?”
“Yup. Pretty impressive for my first week, right?” He grinned.
“Arf! But-“ Spot stared wide eyed out at the shifted office. He hadn’t even noticed the changes take place!
“You can sniff butts later, I’m ready to go,” Master patted him on the head and clipped a leash on Spot.
Spot was so surprised by his owner’s casual display of magic that he had almost forgotten about his zipper waiting at home. He started bouncing up and down on his car seat during the ride home until Master had to tell him to settle down.
“Hmm…” Jack lifted up the zipper curiously when they got back, “It looks like it could still use a bit more magic. Let’s check back in the morning.”
“Arf!? Are you serious!?” Spot sniffed the zipper. He really needed to learn how to smell magic…
“Come on boy, I’ll give you an extra large chew stick tonight,” Master grinned.
Offering a chew stick to calm him down about being stuck as a dog was a little patronizing, but Spot’s tail wagged all the same.
After dinner, Spot expected the wizard to stick his head in a spell book again the whole night. He wouldn’t mind if Master was looking up ways to turn him back. Instead for the first time he found his owner fiddling with his smartphone.
(Wizards still had smartphones?)
The two eventually got ready for bed. This was the first time Spot intentionally was gong to sleep as a dog. He stepped into his dog bed and laid down on the plush cushion. Hmm. Something didn’t feel right. Spot spun around three times, laid down in a slightly different position, and started to doze off.
Waking up as a dog the next morning was less off putting than the first time. Spot had all sorts of weird dreams about chasing milkmen… Still, even if he wasn’t freaking out, he was totally going to pounce up on Master’s bed again. Zipper time!
He leapt up onto the bed and- Arf! It was empty? Spot’s ears perked. He could hear Master pacing in the living room. Spot padded into the room, looking up at the wizard.
He had his phone pressed to his ear. “Hello, yes! This is Jack!”
Spot sat on his haunches and listened to the call. His canine hearing came in handy sometimes. Master was talking to… a realtor? There was an open storefront on 3rd street that was available for a short-term rental.
“Nine thirty sounds great!” His owner was grinning from ear to ear, “See you soon!”
His owner hung up the call and seemed to notice Spot for the first time, “Oh, hello boy! Good morning!”
“Who was that sir?” Spot did a canine head tilt.
“Oh! I reached out to some realtors last night!” He started to grab his car keys, “I had a really fun time running my little shop this week. I figured I have some vacation time saved up… why not try opening my own store? I don’t want to miss out on all these Halloween sales!”
Spot stared at him, “Sir, are you joking?”
“I’m serious, there’s this great little place on third street. I’m going to meet up with the realtor in just a bit. You want to come with?” His Master smiled, “The lease would allow dogs, I checked.”
Master checked that his new shop would allow dogs? He… he was planning on keeping him like this! “Sir, we were going to put my zipper back on this morning, remember?” Spot barked.
His owner blinked. He had clearly forgotten in all of his excitement. “Right, we can do that when I get back,” he mumbled, “Now come on-“
“Sir! We need to talk!” Spot barked. The comment rang throughout the air. Spot hadn’t meant to be so blunt, but his Master was acting really weird.
“What?” He blinked, “Boy, we’re going to be late-“
“John!” Spot growled. “I think you’re turning into your uncle!”